Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter message - and turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online. You can tell your board what to do by sending a set of instructions to the microcontroller on the board. It is like the brain of a project.

Because it is so flexible and open source, Arduino is the best solution if you are interested in creating interactive objects or environments no matter you are artists, designers or hobbyists.